NFL Betting: NFC East slumps into Week 6

Each of the four teams in the NFC East division find themselves below the .500 mark heading into Week 6 of the NFL season, and only one of them has been a lucrative option on the football betting lines through the first five weeks of the year.

And that one team that has been paying out are the Dallas Cowboys, who sit at 2-3 SU but 4-1 ATS after losing a 51-48 shootout to the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon but covering the 7.5-point spread at home at the sportsbooks. Dallas also covered in wins over the Giants and Rams earlier in the season, and in a loss to the Chiefs.

Cowboys QB Tony Romo threw an ill-timed interception in his team's loss to the Broncos on Sunday but still put up monster numbers in the contest; Romo went 25 of 36 for 506 yards through the air with five touchdown strikes. Dez Bryant had a pair of TD catches in that loss for Dallas.

The Cowboys will get a chance to get back to the .500 mark on Sunday Night Football on NBC this week as they play host to Washington, who sits at 1-3 both SU and ATS on the season. The sportsbooks have opened the Cowboys as 5.5-point home favorites for the contest, with the total set at 53 points.

Washington is coming off a bye week; they topped the Raiders 24-14 as a 3.5-point road favorite in their last game back in Week 4. Washington won both of its games against Dallas last season both SU and ATS, with the OVER/UNDER going 1-1 for totals bettors at the sportsbooks in those contests.

New York sits at an ugly 0-5 both SU and ATS on the season, falling 36-21 at home to the Eagles over the weekend in a game that was a pick'em at the sportsbooks. The Bears, who have lost two games in a row, head into Thursday night at 3-2 SU but 1-3-1 ATS through the first five weeks. The sportsbooks have the Bears pegged as 9.5-point favorites.

The Eagles' win on Sunday put them into a tie with the Cowboys for first place in the NFC East at 2-3 SU (and 2-3 ATS), although starting QB Michael Vick suffered a hamstring injury and could be forced to sit out Sunday's game against the Bucs. Tampa Bay is 0-4 SU and 1-3 ATS on the season.

Elsewhere around the NFL this week it'll be Green Bay (-3.5) at Baltimore, Cincinnati (-7.5) at Buffalo, St. Louis at Houston (-7.5), Oakland at Kansas City (-10.5), Carolina at Minnesota (-1), Pittsburgh (-2.5) at the Jets, Detroit (-3) at Cleveland, Tennessee at Seattle (-14.5), Jacksonville at Denver (-28.5), Arizona at San Francisco (-12.5), and New Orleans at New England (-3).